1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to printers that have embedded functionality for printing time-based media, and in particular to a user interface for operating a printer that prints time-based media resulting in a combination of a printed output and a related electronic data output.
2. Description of the Related Art
While conventional printers can print documents in a wide variety of formats, these printers are fundamentally limited in their ability to reproduce different kinds of media. For example, it is standard technology for a printer to produce images of static text, pictures, or a combination of the two. But because these printers print onto paper or another similar fixed medium, they cannot record the nuances of time-based media very well.
In developing a printer that is equipped to print time-based media without the limitations of conventional printers, a user interface for controlling such a printer is needed. It is further desirable that such a user interface be operable with a printer that performs at least some of the necessary processing itself rather than requiring an attached computer or other device to perform all of the processing. Ideally, the user interface should allow a user to specify how much processing is done by the printer.